Roots of Dreams
by Theglitch'srealm
Summary: All for those One Piece fans that have an affinity to the Shanks and Luffy relationship-ever wanted to see more of kid Luffy's interactions with the red-haired pirates? This fanfic offers a collection of both parties' days together for the year the crew operated in Foshia Village.
1. Chapter 1- Hello I am

Roots Of Dreams

Chapter 1

Hello I am

"Dahahahahahaha!"

The lively, strong laugh coming from the Pirate Captain made many heads from the crowd turn around in a swirl of interest.

"Mean Shanks! How dare you laugh at me! I'm getting you back!"

A boisterous, united laugh from the crowd erupted as well. There was no cruel or humiliating intention, just carefree and happy attachment at the boy's situation.

"Dahaha! You silly boy you are too small for this!"

Luffy, the boy, threw an even bigger fit at the man's teasing. He was not small! A man can't be small!

What happened was an almost common occurrence between both the Captain and the boy; the latter was so dead-set in proving his dream of being a great pirate someday that he challenged Shanks to an arm wrestling match. After some thought, Shanks extended a single index finger placing it against Luffy's tiny exposed palm, and pushed it effortlessly down on the countertop. Thus a comical jaw drop with a stutter on one side. Thus the laughter on the other.

Teasing the kid always made the Captain feel phenomenal. There was not one reaction that has come out of the boy that he remembers made him feel incomplete. Luffy is almost an exact replica of Shanks when he was seven years old: energetic, naive, distracted, and fun-loving. Potential is embedded as well, most certainly, since Luffy does not cease anytime a day to pull large scenes in his actions or make his declarations strong, all this the Captain has seen in great men that he has sailed with.

The Captain had never found so much interest in one child. Out of all the things he has lived through, he found it a little odd that… What? The single most peaceful and quiet of all the Blues, the East Blue at that, had the most ambitious child he has ever met.

* * *

Five months ago

The name of the territory was Dawn Island on the furthest corner of the East Blue. A very humble area, nothing to it really, but it does hold civilization. Foosha Village is located next to the shore with a moderate import rate of goods and resources. The small settlement is almost self-sustainable because of this, otherwise, the economy runs on agriculture and from the few markets and motels. It was a warm sunny afternoon. The villagers must have had a fair share of peaceful visits from pirates that roam the seas to have the audacity to approach the massive structure of the ship identified as the Red Force. The villagers were like a flock of sheep, they thought as one, and were kind-hearted, reasonable, and curious people. Curious for the strangers that would be docking on their port in this unassuming village. Curious for what they could learn and what they could do for the pirates if they were peaceful. Curious because they simply had nothing better to do, everything was a routine in their lives.

Men and women were talking amongst themselves.

"Have you ever heard of these pirates?"

"Oh...no….this is the vessel of a rising emperor!"

"Chill out they probably only want supplies."

"Mayor Woop Slap!" This last exclamation turned attention to a short man coming towards the dock. He was wearing simple clothes and showed signs of a hunching back.

The Mayor was not very pleased since this part of the Goa Kingdom was virtually unknown and it was much better that way. The sleepy Foosha Village was home to good people and damn if it was lost to exploitation.

"Oi What do you need from here!? You better mind this town if you wish to resupply!" the Mayor barked at the now immobile ship.

On the deck of the Red Force, there was the usual routine of the crew when docking. The anchor was thrown into the sea, the sails tamed, and the majority of the men were turning to the rails to observe the populace with small interest. What simple, common folk. Excellent resource re-stocking opportunity though. All of the men on the ship were united by their love of the sea, freedom, and adventure. Not unlike the townsfolk, they moved as one as well, but routine was an alien thing to them. There was not one day that was the same since there was sea kings to enemy ships to deal with in these endless blues. Roam the seas wasted and shameless and thoroughly they say.

The mob on the port made some distance by backing towards the village. A large plank was lowered from the edge of the ship but nobody came down. Something was missing.

"Hey guys where is the Captain!?" A man on the mast yelled out.

"He drunk again?"

"No you idiot he is probably in Captain's Cabin obviously."

"This is not like him he's usually here when we dock. And very excited at that."

"He will be here," replied Benn Beckman. He is the first mate of the crew. Considered to be a second-in-command as well as the wisest man on the vessel, he was a never-ending source of advice. When he spoke there was finality to his tone that could make the most stubborn of people halt. He stood calmly next to a barrel with his eyes closed as a cigar hanged from his lips.

As if on cue, there was the squeak of a door coming from the direction of the Captain's Cabin. A straw hat and a long flowing black cape are the first features that are seen on this man. Underneath his cape he wore a white shirt with shorts reaching just beneath the knee with sandals. A red sash tied around his waist held a sabre. He stood out through his natural red hair. Three scars ran down his left eye starting from his forehead to the top of his cheek.

He produced a great yawn while raising his arm to scratch his scalp. This tilted his hat at an angle and revealed rich crimson hair that glistened in the sun. After a few moments, he caught the staring faces that were directed at him and at that moment one of them spoke.

"Mornin' Captain we have arrived on this 'Dawn Island'."

"Cap'n you have bags under your eyes let us apply some make-up to help you." Sarcastically added another man who had picked up on the wit of the last comment. Laughing came from the other men. And it was moments like these that cemented the dynamic between Captain and crew.

Shanks responded, "Ah yes! Man, now we can take one hell of a vacation and party!"

Cheers erupted from the crew.

He grinned and added, "And you guys touch my face again and I'm downing the sake without telling. You dopes behave while we are here."

With that, Shanks turned to the lowered plank. The crew erupted into a frenzy of laughter and followed. A truly blissful brotherhood they all shared.

Captain Red-Haired Shanks is a special man. Extremely expressive in his speech and actions. Described as laid-back, kind, and mischievous, he was a real people person. He held friends at an extremely high regard and his enemies in striking ire. God forbid those that hurt a friend of his. Despite all this, he was insightful and intelligent when he was presented the need. For most of his life all he has known was piracy. He lived only to seek a fulfilling life with adventure.

Returning to the Mayor and the villagers, there was anticipation because there was no signs of hostility from the emerging happy pirates and so they relaxed and started to murmur again.

"Who is your Captain? You be careful while you are here or we'll kick your ass off this town." warned the Mayor.

"Shanks is the name. I am the Captain. My crew and I are only here for restocking and access to your finest bar," politely responded Shanks.

The Mayor nodded his head after a moment and at the same time a woman with dark green hair and a purple outfit approached the men quickly.

"Hello welcome to Foshia Village. My name is Makino. I own a tavern further into town. I can guide you to it and you can make yourselves comfortable." The lady saw no reason for disservice just because of one's career. That would just be rude and very unseemly of her. Besides she needed customers and pirates were good for business since they always left the Party Bar drunk dry. She could not be sure of the true intentions of the pirates, but she has heard of elders and people who have experienced a lot that normally a pirate captain will ramble upon first encountering a settlement of something in the lines of 'We will ransack this miserable town' or 'This place is under my control, you idiots will perch our jolly roger on your tallest building ' and so then the nature of the entire crew can be inferred as well. But not this man. He sounded so polite and not one of his nakama had a weapon or scowl drawn.

"Thank you", replied Shanks with the same tone he used to speak to the Mayor, his eyes widening and pupils dilating a little in interest.

Makino then led them to her tavern all while imagining what Luffy's reaction will be.

Mayor Woop Slap and the rest of the villagers went back to their homes and markets that needed tending. One hell of a business they were going to get depending on the pirates' time of stay. They better not sack them, or else, they would probably be able to do nothing despite what the Mayor threatened to do. Just cowards, they thought, but it was true.

With a certain central character…

An hour passed. Bouncing and running in joy along the streets of Foosha was a very well known boy to the villagers that walked by. Some of them greeted him and some others smiled at his endless enthusiasm towards life. Luffy was ecstatic since he was hungry and meat was what he wanted and he can't wait to see Makino again! Luffy and Makino have an almost mother-and-son relationship if anything they are very good friends. The woman's caring nature really left an impression on Luffy's young mind since he didn't have a mother of his own and she always had food and clothes to give him. A shelter in her tavern if he happened to fall asleep before heading back to his house at night.

Monkey D. Luffy is a special boy. Stunningly naive, energetic, and very curious, Luffy is a very happy child in and out. He was by no means very bright or very careful when it came to some of his shenanigans as he could be unusually rough for a seven-year-old kid. Luffy comes from the legendary lineage of D and he is destined to be a great man one day. Coincidentally, he grandly dreams of becoming a great pirate of the sea. Right now the boy plays and daydreams of being a free pirate but he shall one day see the fruition of his unbreakable will.

Luffy slowed down to a jog as he approached the Party's Bar (Makino's tavern) and pushed through the saloon doors. Suddenly he yelled once he spotted Makino at her usual spot behind the counter of the bar. Luffy was completely oblivious to the crew of pirates that have turned their attentions towards him. A full house was not uncommon in the tavern and it was not like the boy cared.

"Makinoooooo! I'm hungry again!" Luffy loudly exclaimed with a large grin on his face.

"Luffy! There you are I was wondering where you were. How have you been?" The tavern owner sweetly greeted Luffy as he climbed up on the stool with his small struggle to push himself up.

"Great! I found an anthill and it was awesome till I tripped and fell on it. Some of the ants climbed up my nose and my mouth." He giggled candidly and rested his chin on the countertop as he looked at Makino.

Makino also giggled at Luffy's clumsy antics and resumed to get him some food. Sitting not ten feet away from the boy was Shanks in his half given attention to a mug of sake. He acknowledged the loud shout that came from the child, Luffy, his name. Yet, he did not turn around as it was not necessary the unexpected boy who didn't look ten years old dashed to the front of the bar and gleefully conversed with Makino. Shanks only slightly turned his head to see the boy resting his head on the countertop.

'This kid is quite interesting,' The red haired man reflected. He had a soft spot for children and enjoyed interacting with them. The very few times him and his crew have met children for more than five minutes it involved him talking to them the most and teasing them playfully. More often than not, kids got closer to him than any of his men. Much to his chagrin he often ends up on the laughing end of the conversation when his crew pokes fun at his own childish behavior. And those were the times they were drunk mostly.

The corner of his mouth tilted slightly upwards.

A sharp inhale of air came from Luffy. Once Makino set down for him a plate with rice and chicken legs with a glass of orange juice, he quickly scarfed it down and drank every drop from his glass.

Shanks imitated the boy with his sake and by instinct he asked for more.

"Makino-san another fill please."

"Of course, Captain-san."

The raven-haired boy was absently sticking his tongue as far as he could into the glass cup out of boredom. Luffy was not the quickest to pick up on the form of address that was used by the adults. He wasn't the cleverest period. This was especially notable if conversations had nothing of crucial significance to his situation and after he just ate; in which he immediately sort of goes into a daze.

A few minutes of blank noise went on in the background. There was even a cricket chirping somewhere. The small boy then had a spasm run through his body that made him jump up on his seat. His facial features turned comical and he suddenly had bulging eyes with a hanging jaw.

"Eeehhhhhhh! Hey old man you're a captain!?

Everybody else in the tavern immediately twisted their full attention to the hysteric. All of them with an amused look on their faces.

Shanks wanted to snicker but refrained from doing so for now. Man, was the boy slow. Turning his head he decided to simply test the nerves of the boy.

"Yes I am," Shanks made a small smile, "What is a kid like you doing in a bar with a bunch of pirates. You know, you should be scared." His tone lowered to one that was almost sinister for the last part.

"Woahh! That's so cool old man! This is your crew there's so many of them! Where is your ship I bet it's awesome!" Proclaimed the sturdy Luffy that did not bat an eye at the menace in the man's voice. He was genuinely excited that there was an actual pirate crew in Makino's tavern.

Shanks stared at Luffy pensively and got impressed by his unbroken enthusiasm. He was certain that any child that got to hear such tone would at least start to tremble a little. Also, he glared intensely enough to frighten a child into tears. At this point he could not contain his laughter any longer. His random chuckling made Luffy stare at him in brief confusion until he scooted a little closer to the man to get a better look at him. Just inches away from the man's face, Luffy did nothing but stare with a plain expression. Shanks noticed the boy's sudden proximity and raised his eyebrows quizzically.

"Shishi! My name is Luffy. Do you have a name?" Chirped Luffy, locking eyes with Shanks.

"Nice to meet you, Luffy. My name is Shanks," answered the man with a small smile.

"Yosh! Say I like your scars. Did a cat scratch you?" asked Luffy as he sat back down while pointing at the older man.

The man in question drank from his sake before giving the kid an answer. With a full grown man, he would have said it was from the past simply and dismiss the conversation. However, he was taken a little bit aback from the blunt opinion of the boy. A man he detested gave him those scars. He very nearly lost his left eye over a fierce clash of minds. 'Irrelevant crap' he strongly asserted.

"Mmm? No, It was an accident it happened a long time ago."

At this point came back Makino who was tending to her customers, behind the counter to refill Luffy's glass.

"I have scars too. And those were from scary animals in the jungle. But it is worth it because if I want to be a brave pirate of the sea, I have to be used to bleeding sometimes."

"You want to be a pirate?" The Captain's interest piked.

"Yeah! A great one! Shanks, you should show me your ship I wanna see!" The boy abruptly changed the subject as he hopped down the stool and turned to look up at the man eagerly.

The man produced a hearty laugh and started to cough from his current sip. Recovering quickly, he turned to see Luffy with a large smile and a shine in his eyes. The latter was practically shaking.

"Eh right now?"

Luffy nodded his head and impatiently reached for his hand. It was hilarious how the kid pulled without affect and Shanks simply grinned as he thought the idea of submitting to his wish.

Rowdy laughter came from the crew who now again had their attention on the pair. A man with yellow dreadlocks with a partially unbuttoned blue shirt and a bottle in hand came close to the struggling boy. He was chuckling as he bent down a little to tease him.

"I'll help you pull him up kid if you want to go that badly."

This made Luffy swirl around and scowl indignantly at the man.

"I can pull him up myself just you watch!" Screamed Luffy and once again grabbed the red haired man's hand again in an effort to not make an embarrassment of himself.

Makino giggled from the background at the adorable display of child effort. With a growing smirk, the Captain exaggeratedly pretended to be shoved out of his seat which resulted in more laughter from his crew before agreeing to show the energetic boy his ship. The warm air and the glare of the late afternoon sun made Shanks squint his eyes. A tinge of sea salt could be swelled in the air. There were no pedestrians on this street since the food markets and commercial mini stores were located around the center of the town. The Partys Bar was in the outskirt of the town near the small cliff that overlooked the vast blue sea.

The Captain could still not lose his initial fascination that he had of the kid. Many people would not openly converse with his crew much less him so quickly after encountering them. Their growing status as one of four of the most powerful pirate crews in the world has torn many land dwellers in the extent of alliance they should grant to the Yonko. Some fear them. As Peace Main type, Shanks has claimed territories in the Grand Line that completely assented to raise his jolly roger. Also territories that begged protection or held significant value to his nakama. And this was good because he was one hell of a party thrower and oppressed people could never offer the mood that they all shared. Little did he know that in the East Blue he'd find such prominence of imagination in a child he would come to call a good friend.


	2. Chapter 2- Ship

Roots Of Dreams

Chapter 2

Ship

Standing in front of the large vessel in the full grasp of the late afternoon sun made the golden piece of the red dragon figurehead flash in pride. An epitome of a pirate's magnificence; it is the soul and spirit of the red hair pirates. Two of the sails, one on the foremast and the other on the main mast, had the jolly roger largely illustrated on them plus the black flag on top the crow's nest. A red stripe cut the ship in half separating the top and bottom gunports. In all, the ship had a color combination of red, white, and brown. Marveling at his ride, Shanks smiled with appreciation the long memories he has had thus far on her. If fate allows it, perhaps she will last twenty more years.

A heavy inhale entered the lips of young Luffy as his eyes grew to the size of plates.

"Whooooaaaaaa! It's awesome!" He yelled at the top of his small lungs (the other side of the village could hear him) at a thing that he could only dream about.

"Nice, huh?"

"Can I see the inside?" Quickly responded Luffy, unthinkingly and excitedly only to see the marvels that the vessel holds. Even if the red head said no he would spring onto the ship someway or another. When nobody was around of course.

It would still be months from now for Shanks to understand the next likely mischief that Luffy would commit within a span of the next few hours. The kid was just too unpredictable. However, for now they only barely know each other's name. The seven-year-old boy has already mispronounced Shank's name thrice on accident with the latter gently repeating the correct way to say it. The man has once stuttered half way before recollecting his thoughts and completing the name. In the Partys Bar he only referred to Luffy as 'kid'.

Shanks tilted his head vacuously, "I will allow it just don't hang from the railings or anything else, Luffy," he then opted to poke some fun at him, "and do not take anything or I will tan your hide you little kid." The man has picked up on the short temper of the child when his ego was nudged with being accused of the fact that he was small. It was hilarious. One of the first traits he would ever understand of what is Luffy.

A small explosion popped from Luffy. He threw a small fit with his fists in the air and telling him to shut up. The older man's starting laughter made Luffy more frustrated and simply said 'meanie' before running towards the port with Shanks trailing behind.

Luffy only got a brief tour of the Red Force since there was rooms and resources that Shanks did not desire for him to see. Basically, they only touched the deck of the ship because of this. Luffy was on an adrenaline rush the entire time and fully enjoying the all corners of the few rooms he got to go into. The Captain very easily adopted his joy and laughed, teased, and lightly scolded the boy at certain times. The man was amused by Luffy's simple interests in the small critters that he found: spiders hanging from their spider webs, bettles, a marching line of ants, seagulls that perched somewhere on the deck, at one point a pelican!

Shanks never knew how or when, but after three minutes of unusual silence, Luffy scampered to where he sat on a chair relaxed looking out to the art of the setting sun. The child sported a very happy expression that completely hid his incoming naught. The more Shanks saw that smile, the more he felt like a sun lighted inside him. 'What a distracting smile he has'. Then out of nowhere, there was a rat. In his grasp, Luffy held the rat by its tail and it dangled squeaking hysterically in an attempt to get free. The older man nearly jumped from his seat from the proximity of the rodent to his face. He was not scared of rats but that was way too close for his liking.

He frowned at the sight.

Luffy snickered and stated the obvious, "Look Shanks I found a rat!"

Shanks rolled his eyes at this,"Ugh let it go it's filthy and it smells," A better idea came to him, "...No, just throw it overboard."

Luffy ignored the request and demanded,"Shanks, show me the rest of your ship! I know you are holding back on me I'm not stupid!" he raised the rat higher for some wanted emphasis.

Shanks laughed heartily and waved his hand back and forth. "Ah you got me. Yes, I didn't show you the rest because it's getting late. Perhaps another day I'll show you Luffy", he concluded with a tone of finality before adding, "Anyways, what did you think of it?"

"I like it its awesome! Its huge! Its big enough for you to have a lot of meat in it!" Ended Luffy in a bizarre way that was supported with snickering. Shanks rolled his eyes again from the small nonsense as he smiled in acknowledgement of the compliment. "That's good. We should head back now." The boy did not protest and beamed at the thought of going back to food despite the waning of the day.

Back in the Partys Bar…

Cheerful atmospheric vibes laced with alcoholic stains was dominant in the tavern that night after the Captain and Luffy came back. Greetings that mainly consisted of 'Welcome back Cap'n' and just 'Captain' were offered as acknowledgement to his return. At least the guys who were not passed out with the influence. Stories about the pirate's voyages were being exchanged among few of the men. Laughs erupted from somebody's clumsiness as falling backwards from his seat. Drunken bliss.

By the time Luffy finally got his buttocks on the seat Makino had greeted him once again and a few crew members hollered for his attention.

"Oi kid! What did you think?"

"You were very excited to see the Force so what did you think?"

The boy in question turned with a puzzled expression. "The Force?"

A large round man wearing a far too small green and white striped shirt, a mauled chicken leg in hand, and a face-splitting smile came out of nowhere and explained, "Yeah! Didn't the boss tell you our ship's name is Red Force?"

Luffy sheepishly shook his head then his sensitive curiosity balance tipped suddenly (with anger), "No he didn't!" he popped turning his head towards the mentioned red head who was conversing with Makino, "But that's a cool name why is it named like that?"

The same man that teased Luffy earlier in the day with yellow dreadlocks, Yasopp his name, answered, "Our crew name is the red-haired pirates. An epithet given to us from the hair color of the Captain."

"Shanks has red hair?" Came the dim response of the boy that made the pirates sweatdrop with some facepalming harshly. How was he so idiotic to not notice the man's most noticeable trait?

"YES!"

"Shishishi! I didn't know that Shanks' hat is in the way. And red is my favorite color too!" innocently said Luffy rubbing the back of his head distractedly. His smile widening largely to backup his guileless.

A heavy sigh dragged out of everyone.

"You sure are slow, Luffy. Look." Commanded Shanks as he took off his straw hat to reveal his trademark crimson hair. Luffy simply stared and nodded his head.

"Well, it's getting late. Makino-san thanks much for your service. We will certainly come back." He pulled out a small bag tied with twine on the bar and stood. It was like a signal for the rest of the men to follow suit and the passed out were carried out by their crew members. The Captain headed for the doors but before that he called over his shoulder, "I hope we meet again, Luffy." The farewell was filled with merry expectation in it that held the weight of an indirect promise. It was late now and they all needed to rest from the hangovers that would bless their morning.

'What an interesting kid'.

A smiling Luffy was left staring at the swinging doors when Makino changed his attention to ask of his adventure on the pirate ship. The boy plunged in a mania of his day's events to her.

Somewhere in the Red Force…

"Ahg! Where is Mickey? How did the latch to the door get opened!?"

"Yo,Chass what happened?"

"...Mickey is missing from his cage."

"Isn't that your pet rat? How would I know where it ran off to? Don't worry maybe I'll catch you a mermaid. That would be one hell of an upgrade now wouldn't it?"

"Aww, shut up! He was a better bunk companion than you."

Somewhere in the countryside of the island was another free critter, or so it thought, until it dropped its guard and joined the food chain.


End file.
